ALBION sealed a dramatic £3million capture of Luton centre-back Curtis Davies just three minutes before the close of the transfer window last night.

ALBION sealed a dramatic #3million capture of Luton centre-back Curtis Davies just three minutes before the close of the transfer window last night.

The Baggies beat off bids from Blues and Tottenham who failed to match their offer for the highlyrated 20-year-old who signed a four-year deal following a night of talks, which was concluded by a successful medical.

Albion managed to beat the clock with just moments to spare to secure their record signing for a defender - exceeding the #2.7million they paid out for Martin Albrechtsen in summer 2004.

Davies, who shares his 'Big Dave' nickname with long-time Albion defender Darren Moore, is regarded as one of the game's biggest talents outside of the Premiership.

He becomes Bryan Robson's sixth, and final, signing for this half of the season, taking the total summer spending to just over #9million.

The Baggies boss was delighted to land Davies, who is expected to train with his new team-mates for the first time next Monday.

"I was really impressed when I saw Curtis play for Luton. Our scouts, who have been monitoring him since the end of last season, have been coming back with great reports," said Robson.

"I believe he's got a really good future in the game. Although he's still got a lot of development ahead of him, he's exactly the type of player I want to keep bringing into this club.

"He'll fit in really nicely with all the other good young players we've got here, like Nathan Ellington, Robert Earnshaw, Richard Chaplow and Darren Carter.

"We want to keep bringing really good young players into this club and Curtis is one of the most outstanding young centre halves I've seen for some time.

"I want to develop the club even further and I believe good young signings like Curtis will help us achieve that and it's great the chairman is backing me with these purchases."

The 6ft 2in Davies made 62 appearances for Mike Newell's men, scoring two goals, and was a key figure in their promotion-winning side last year.

He closed the chapter on his Luton career in style on Monday by scoring a late winner in a 2-1 victory over Millwall.